


My Heart is Buried in Venice

by deaddoh



Series: Haikyuu Pocket Universes [12]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Light Angst, M/M, MerMay, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24079774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deaddoh/pseuds/deaddoh
Summary: Aone is a simple lighthouse keeper and a coast guard who meets a creature.
Relationships: Aone Takanobu/Hinata Shouyou
Series: Haikyuu Pocket Universes [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715062
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	My Heart is Buried in Venice

**Author's Note:**

> for the friend that doesn't mind me reading my writing aloud despite its flaws.
> 
> inspired by the song "My Heart is Buried in Venice" by Ricky Montgomery

**_“Come rest your bones next to me. And toss all your thoughts to the sea.”_ **

The waves crash against the rock, sending up a large spray of seafoam with some landing onto Aone’s window. The man is sitting at his desk with a pen in his hand simply staring out to the rough sea hoping for something, anything to rise out of the waves. The clouds swirl ominously and the lighthouse keeper stands and grabs his raincoat. Outside, the wind is wild and angry. It whips Aone’s coat in aggravated ruffles as the man closes the shutters and locks them in place. He looks out to the sea and up to the sky and nods to himself as the color of the clouds affirms the coast guard’s suspicions. As the man makes his way back inside, Aone catches a flash of gold. He turns to look out again and stands for a moment or two waiting. But nothing appears and the man pushes the lighthouse’s door open.

**_“I’ll pull up each of our anchors. So we can get lost, you and me.”_ **

The storm rages and it’s the first time Aone has had trouble sleeping. He can only manage an hour or two at a time before waking up with a startled breath before needing to check his radio for distress calls. After the fourth time, the man decides to just stay awake and make himself a cup of tea. With the kettle boiling water and a quick check of all the windows, Aone returns to the stove to pour out the now-boiled water. He soaks a mint-and-green tea bag and moves to his desk. The radio hasn’t made a sound all night despite how wild the storm is currently. Suddenly, there’s a loud bang on the first-floor balcony. Aone stands and slides on his raincoat and walks up the stairs. He knows that the waves from this particular storm have been taller than the previous storm and it won’t be anything new if something managed to get thrown onto the balcony, like a dead animal, trash, or old fishing gear. The coast guard reaches the last step and makes his way over to the balcony door and opens it.

And laying there, on the cold metal balcony is a gold mermaid with orange hair.

**_“My heart is buried in Venice. Hidden beneath all my worries and doubts.”_ **

Aone panics slightly. He’s heard from every person older than eighty tell him to respect the waters because there are mermaids living in the harbors doing work for Poseidon. But never in a million years would the man have thought that he’d have a mermaid in his arms and in his bathroom. Suddenly, he’s thankful for the salt pills that the old market clerk gave him. Although, it takes a bit for Aone to have enough confidence to even place the mermaid into his tub because well, what if he harmed the creature? That’d surely be bad news, so he gently slid the creature into the tub after the salt pills dissolved. With his arms free, the coast guard realizes two things, there’s blood _everywhere,_ and that he has no idea how to even take care of a mermaid.

Blood. Right. The man quickly pulls out his first aid kit and finds his sewing kit. Looking back to the mermaid Aone threads the needle and moves to the side of the tub. He checks for breathing by hovering his hand by the mermaid’s mouth and sighs quietly in relief feeling an exhale. He snags a clean washcloth and places it in his lap in case the mermaid wakes up and needs something to bite. With everything set up, Aone leans over the tub and begins stitching. The mermaid understandably flinches and their face scrunches up and the man feels guilty but he continues. The wound itself isn’t too deep but the mermaid is small so the blood loss is enough to kill them minus the fact that they might have a concussion from being tossed around in the waves and onto the lighthouse balcony. 

With the stitches complete, Aone dumps the needle into the sink and drains some water from the tub to clean out the blood. He turns the cold tap on and drops in a few more salt pills. He sits back and sighs, briefly watching the mermaid. With nothing else popping out the coast guard stands and goes to reheat his tea.

**_“My heart is buried in Venice. Waiting for someone to take it home.”_ **

Aone jerks awake feeling water hit his foot. He looks over to see the mermaid waving their arms to get his attention. He stands and moves to the tub’s side and the mermaid seems attentive, clicking and whistling quietly. The man tilts his head slightly, a universal sign of confusion, and the mermaid perks up. After a few moments of silence and a contemplative look crosses their face.

“Can you understand me now?” The mermaid’s voice is surprising. It’s high-pitched, fitting with their size, but it’s also full sounding.

The coast guard nods and the mermaid clicks in excitement. “Were you the one who fixed me?” 

The man nods again. “Thank you! I’m Hinata Shoyo from the reef.”

“Ah. I’m Aone Takanobu, from the land.”

“Nice to meet you Aone-san! Where am I?”

“You’re in a lighthouse, sitting in the tub.”

“Oh! Do you mean the tall thing with the spinning sun? I’m inside it?!”

Aone nods, smiling slightly at Hinata’s excitability. “You are, but the spinning sun is called a lightbulb.”

Hinata tries to heft himself out of the tub but the man places a large hand on the other’s shoulder, “Don’t move too much. You’ll reopen your wound.”

“But I’m better already! Look!.”

The coast guard does, letting his eyes trace the spot where the stitches were and he’s surprised to see both the string removed (floating in the water) and that the wound is completely healed with a raised red line in its place. He purses his lips and looks back to Hinata’s face. “But how will you move around?”

“I have legs, duh.”

Aone hums and moves away, simply expecting nothing to happen since Hinata might be concussed and unable to do anything but instead he’s able to haul himself to where his tail hangs over the side of the tub. A light envelops the room and when the man opens his eyes, Hinata has legs.

**_“Even when you try to hide it. A smile creeps out from your teeth.”_ **

Watching Hinata walk around the lighthouse swamped in Aone’s clothes is amusing and a small smile tugs at the taller’s lips. The mermaid is in awe of how big everything is and Aone explains that’s only because he’s taller than most people and Hinata looked at him with a radiant look.

“I know people who’re tall too! Kageyama and Azmane are tall.”

The man nods, despite not knowing who those mermaids (presumably) are and the two continue exploring the lighthouse. Looking out the window, the storm has lessened but it’s raining heavily and has reduced visibility to an all-time low. He marks that down for later and watches Hinata as he inspects the kettle.

“I’ve been on land before but never in someone’s home.” The mermaid meets Aone’s gaze and the taller feels like Hinata is so much wiser than him, the other’s golden eyes seem to hold his in place. “What does this do?”

The moment is broken and the coast guard has goosebumps. Instead of acknowledging the moment, he explains that the kettle boils water, and immediately Hinata is asking to try some tea. The taller nods and fills the kettle with water and sets it on the stove, briefly warning the mermaid to not touch the flame. The other nods and Aone ignites the stove and tells Hinata to wait a moment for him to come back. The coast guard walks back to his desk and signs in, quickly warning the mainland of the low visibility and telling the receiver the current temperature. The man returns to the kitchen and smiles seeing Hinata sitting at the kitchen table reading a book.

“Want some tea?”

“Yeah! Just give me whatever is your favorite.”

The man pours the water into two mugs and places one tea-bag into each. He passes a mug to Hinata and the mermaid clasps the mug and looks at it in awe, obviously liking the heat that’s emanating from the mug. It makes Aone feel just a little less lonely.

**_“I never thought that I would have to say ‘I’m sorry’ for anyone, but me.”_ **

Hinata stays a few days and Aone is surprised to learn that the mermaid didn’t have a concussion and that he was totally alright without being in the ocean for a few days. But one morning it’s silent and so very unlike Hinata. The coast guard stands at his desk and watches the, now, clear skies. He sighs quietly and sits, reporting the weather and temperature. He moves through his day like any other before meeting the mermaid and suddenly everything is just too cold, too spacious. He’s aching to talk to someone, but it really shouldn’t be shocking for no one to be there. But it makes Aone ache. Ache for the mermaid with golden eyes so much wiser than his own.

**_“Say, say what you mean. Tell me the truth or tell me you’re through. Don’t leave me to breathe. Don’t leave me to bleed. For someone who chose to leave me.”_ **

The loneliness slowly fades with time, with each passing day that Hinata is gone. Aone has returned to his silent way of life, only speaking when he checks in, gives a report, and checks out. He moves through the lighthouse lightly like he’s waiting for the sounds of a faraway engine or a quiet knock on the door. The wind whistles and everything echos which makes the coast guard feel like something’s missing but he ignores it for the benefit of moving on. Who is he to think that Hinata would stay longer? Hinata’s a mermaid who lives in the ocean, a vast, practically endless place. So why would someone with all that space confine themselves in a cramped space with someone as big as Aone?

**_“My heart is buried in Venice. Waiting for someone to take it home.”_ **

One day, months after Hinata left there’s a knock on the door. It’s so quiet, that Aone dismisses it at first. He figured it was the seagulls, who often dropped oysters or clams onto the lighthouse’s rocky ground sending shell shrapnel against the door. But it’s louder the second time and the coast guard stands up from his desk. He moves to the door and hesitates to open is, what if it’s a prank? It’s not unheard of that some of the local teens come and bother him, but he didn’t hear the sound of a boat. What if he just missed it? Regardless, Aone opens the door expecting to see nothing or some annoying kid hiding just out of sight. But instead, he sees Hinata. Hinata with an apologetic look on his face and a pearl in his outstretched hand.

**Author's Note:**

> this was nice to write, tho it was a bit hard with all my school work (ugh)


End file.
